Unacademy And Dream11 Join The Race For IPL Title Sponsorship

With the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) nearly a month away, one of the aspects that still lingers up in the air is the sponsors. Reportedly, several companies have shown interest and education technology company Unacademy and fantasy sports website Dream11 are the latest ones to come in the fray. The 2020 IPL will begin on the 19th of September in the UAE, shifted from India due to the COVID-19 threat.

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Friday was the last date to submit the ‘Expression of Interest’ to the BCCI. There is also speculation that Tata Motors has entered the race; however, it still remains unclear about its participation. BCCI postponed their partnership by one year with VIVO due to the current heated face-off between India and China at the border. The board expects a deal of INR 300 to 350 crores as VIVO gave a deal of 440 crores.

A source of the BCCI confirmed to PTI that Unacademy and Dream11 have submitted their EOIs for the IPL title sponsorship. The official went on to mention that the EOI does not have to contain the bid amount and that it will be sent on the 18th of August.

“Yes, Unacademy and Dream11 have submitted their EOIs for the title sponsorship bid of IPL. The EOI doesn’t have to mention the bid amount. It will be sent on August 18,” the official stated.

BCCI highlights that the highest bidder might not win the sponsorship deal of the IPL:

The representative went on to add that after the delivery of EOI, BCCI shall notify the rights, entitlements, and product categories to the interested third parties. The final bid must be sent to the said email address on the 18th of August between 11 am to 1 pm.

“Post the delivery of the EOI, BCCI shall inform the rights, product categories and entitlements to the interested third parties. The final bid should be sent to eoi@bcci.tv between 11 am to 1pm on August 18, 2020,” he added.

The official continued by stating that a lot of times some unknown organisations can make exorbitant bids, which could bring their credibility under scrutiny. It is also understood that if Tata Tata Sons and Jio Telecommunications join the race then BCCI can get VIVO’s equivalent of INR 440 crores deal.

“A lot of times, some unknown organisations can bid insanely and then you might find there are questions regarding their credibility. Also what if a company, with sizeable Chinese investment, bids? ‘ Then the whole postponement of partnership with Vivo will look very stupid,” the representative commented.

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